Beyond Smallville: Time Shards 4
by gardy77
Summary: Superman's quest to save Earth's future from the evil demon alien Darkseid continues, leading Clark, Lois, and the other members of the dysfunctional Justice League into alternative realities. Clark and Kara must assemble their forces to oppose Darkseid's Black Fleet invasion. Kal El shifts between dimensions, in an attempt to gather The League's greatest heroes.
1. Chapter 1: Aquamarine Shard

Time Shards 4 – The Aquamarine Shard

Superman again spun through the time vortex. The breakneck speed and spinning and twisting motion should've been more than any human could handle, yet his close allies persevered. Admittedly, Clark was no expert on time travel and quantum physics, and the humans were barely scratching the surface on this advanced technology. The science was at its infancy.

Kal El glanced down at the now familiar white light that danced at the end of every time vortex. Each time he'd spied the white light, he knew that a new timeline would come into being. Traveling up to this point had been haphazard at best, bouncing him from alternative reality to alternative reality.

There had been little to no consistency between the varying timelines until now. During the last time shard sequence, Clark had come across the controls for the Eye of Rao's use. Still, this new timeline smelled unique, as he spilled out of the vortex's swirling multicolored bottom.

Superman felt the salty sea air hit his unsuspecting face. Something smacked against his back. He soon realized that he was moving quickly across the water. The waves pounded the craft to and fro. After pressing the aquamarine colored shard on the Eye of Rao pendant, he'd been sucked into the vortex.

Most of the alternative realities he encountered were defective, and appeared to do very little to help him in his overall quest. The plan was to travel back in time and gather the Justice League members much earlier than he'd originally met them. Kara Zor El Kent, his young cousin, had helped devise the mission, while she attempted something similar on her own. (See "Beyond Smallville: Girl of Steel")

Both Kryptonians intended to stop Darkseid from committing genocide, as he and the Dark Force Fleet planned a devastating attack on the people of Earth, either enslaving or outright killing the humans. In the future, Superman and Supergirl failed. This was their one chance to resurrect the Justice League, and band them together with other helpful alien freedom fighters.

For years Kal El and Kara had lived in the shadows, trying to fit in with their adopted people, the humans, which they'd grown to respect and love. Their nonintervention had failed miserably. A full eighty percent of Earth's population had been enslaved or killed by Darkseid's minions.

Now, the friendly aliens must right this terrible wrong. Clark's head popped up from behind a large green tarp which had come loose from its moorings. He quickly shoved the tarp beneath him. "Hey Smallville! Where did you come from?" Lois's pleasant voice echoed above the crashing waves.

Superman lazily cast a glance at her. Lois was about twenty five, wearing a florescent orange bikini, sported a decent tan, and her hair had lightened considerably, likely caused by exposure to the sun.

Oliver Queen and Chloe Sullivan sat at the cockpit controls of a large light green yacht. Oliver was tearing up the surf, as if he was trying to race or outdistance someone.

Chloe gazed back over one tan shoulder at Clark with a puzzled expression on her face. She wore a bright pink bikini, and now had lengthy blonde hair curled partway down her mostly bare back.

"Hey Clark!" Oliver greeted him without taking his eyes off the churning sea ahead of him. Superman wasn't sure when this timeline began or how much anyone knew about the situation. He noticed that several crushed beer cans were strewn about the rear corner of the boat.

"Geez Lois, how many of those beers did you have? I've been back here the whole time." Clark pretended to be mildly angry with her. "Uh, Clark must've fallen asleep behind the _Queen's Gambit's_ tarp." Chloe immediately defended. Chloe's excuse told him a lot. Apparently, in this time shard he hadn't yet told Lois the truth about him being a super-powered alien refugee from Krypton.

"That sounds like my Smallville." Lois cheerfully remarked. "He's always the epitome of excitement." She gently ribbed him. Clark sat up attentively leaning against the yacht's rolled up tarp. He tried to determine where and when they were. Apparently, Oliver was taking them for a cruise across some tropical sea, likely in the midst of the Caribbean. Clark used his enhanced vision to survey the area.

Superman could identify very few ships in the immediate vicinity. He spied only a few oil tankers, and a luxury cruise ship miles away from them. To their left, just coming into view over the horizon, stood a large oil rig. The structure towered a few stories higher than the current ocean level.

The ocean was very choppy, and more than once, Lois had slipped off her seat, conveniently landing squarely in Clark's lap. "Hey Smallville, nice catch!" She flirted heavily, as Clark held her by her slim waist. Chloe watched her cousin's antics and shook her head, as Oliver laughed loudly. "Real smooth, Lane, real smooth!" He teased. Ollie turned the Queen's Gambit towards the oil rig.

"I have a confession to make." Oliver began. "Oh really?" Chloe asked playfully as she gathered her lengthy blonde hair into a tight ponytail. "I have to investigate some complaints about that oil rig up ahead. Queen Industries International owns it, and as exec president, I have to show that I have concerns." He stated as the Queen's Gambit skirted some twenty foot plus waves.

"You're going to rip someone a new one in orange swim trunks and a tacky white Hawaiian shirt?" Lois asked incredulously, climbing back into her seat just above Clark. "Yeah, I have a change of clothes below deck in the cabin." Oliver explained. "This is a business slash pleasure cruise, then?" Chloe asked. "Pretty much." He answered. "That's my guy." Chloe praised, rubbing Ollie's suntanned leg.

The Queen's Gambit continued to close on the smoke spewing oil rig. Lois stood up and mock saluted Oliver. "Ahoy you scurvy dogs! Swab that deck, hoist the mainsail, you bilge rats! Argh!" She continued to clown. "Oh? You mean you want me to open up the twin 500 HP motors?" Oliver taunted, and throttled the ship's speed up to near maximum, knocking Lois right back into Clark's lap.

"Ollie! You are a child!" Chloe rebuked him. Lois, meanwhile, leaned heavily into Clark, and pressed against his bare chest. He instinctively put his arm around her. Superman momentarily forgot about his dire mission. It had been a long time since he'd held his love close to him, in his arms.

This Lois seemed to be younger, impetuous, and appeared to be slightly immature. Even if it wasn't the tough, hard-nosed reporter that he remembered his Lois to be, to him this felt like home.

Lois continued to whisper into Clark's ear what she'd like to do with him, and how often. Oliver, meanwhile, began to explain the problem with the oil rig. "The EPA and some other annoying government watchdog agencies have been registering complaints against this specific QII oil rig." He added. "I've had my people monitoring the issue."

"The experts claim that there is a small crude oil petroleum leak emanating from the rig's base. It seems to be working its way to the ocean floor." Oliver clued them in. "I figured that a surprise inspection was in order, because when I tried to call the rig officials on the carpet, they tend to tell me what I want to hear." Chloe nodded. "That makes sense." She remarked.

"You told the other execs and everyone else that you were going on a vacation." Chloe clarified. "Exactly." Ollie agreed. Clark was listening with interest, but had forgotten all about Lois's romantic suggestions playing out in his other ear. "Huh?" He finally glanced at her.

"Really?" Lois scowled. "Way to ruin the romantic mood, Smallville!" She said crossly. Before Clark could respond, the sea before them began to spin. Lois stood up and walked over towards the edge of the ship's stern. She held the titanium reinforced railing and glowered at Clark.

The sea behind her began to swirl, and the swells buffeted the yacht. He lazily glanced up at her, and was surprised at what he saw. "Not that I'm complaining, Smallville, but my eyes are up here!" Lois teased him. "Lois! Don't move!" Clark ordered. "Why?" Lois glared at him. "Oh! I get it! You want to remember me as is, the waves crashing behind me, the brisk, salty wind whipping through my sundrenched, soon to be bleached blonde hair?" She toyed with him.

"Something like that!" Clark responded as two large, great blue whales surfaced beyond Lois's silhouette. In an instant, Superman was up on his feet, fearing that Lois would be pulled over the side of the boat, and into the turbulent sea. Oliver throttled down the Queen's Gambit to a much slower pace, as he noted the quickly shifting currents. It seemed surreal to Clark, still unsure of what he was seeing.

Superman had realized that all of the previous trips through time and shifting realities began to take a toll on him. He assumed that his reactions were hindered each time he appeared in a new timeline. Obviously this had never been done before, so he could only guess that it created a type of jet lag.

Finally, Oliver placed the ship into a slow arcing turn just to the west of the original route toward the QII Oil Rig. The two whales had matched their angle and speed to that of the _Queen's Gambit_. The nearest whale spouted sea water from its blowhole, completely drenching Lois and Clark. "Ew!" Was all Lois managed to get out before she turned to face the large sea mammals.

To everyone's surprise, a man stood atop the whale. He'd been holding a large harness that was strapped across the whale's head, secured beneath its chin. The whale was partly visible below the clear water's surface. The second whale had an obviously female rider perched atop it as well.

Superman gawked as Lois slowly backed away from the sea animals toward the center of the boat. She slid into Clark's arms, and realized that there was something oddly familiar about the whale rider. "AC? What the hell?" Lois yelled above the din of the still churning sea.

"AC, you know that this isn't Sea World!" Lois shouted. "You're not allowed to ride the wildlife!" The young woman pointed a meter long golden silver trident at Lois. "Silence!" She bellowed. The female whale rider had lengthy soaking wet, slicked back, black hair, and was barely dressed in a silver and gold bikini which looked to be made of some type of reptilian skin.

Clark noted that she wore a thin golden tiara, that had multicolored pearls inlaid within it. "Who are you talking to, Missy?" Lois challenged as Clark scowled at her. "Lois!" He snapped. "Not helping!" By now, Oliver had down-shifted the yacht to a crawl as the whales drew nearer. He turned to face AC.

"What's up, fish face?" Oliver taunted. "You don't call, you don't write, not even a message in a bottle?" AC, or Arthur Curry, had been part of their fledgling dysfunctional group from the very beginning, Clark mused. But this AC didn't appear to be the same one he'd recalled from the original timeline.

"I'm now called Prince Arthur." AC began haughtily. "Then who's she supposed to be, fish stick, Lady Guinevere?" Lois said as she snickered. "Allow me to kill the over dwellers for you, my Lord!" The young female whale rider growled seriously, again pointing the trident at Lois and the center of the boat.

"Whoa! Back off!" Chloe threatened. "Quiet, Mira!" AC ordered angrily. "As you wish, my liege." Mira said as she gave everyone the evil eye, committing their faces to memory. She pointed the trident back into the air. "Okay Prince Arthur, what's your problem?" Oliver began coldly.

Clark hadn't said anything yet, as he tried to determine how this timeline would fit into his overall plan. So far, he'd had a decided lack of success with his dire mission. Arthur Curry still had the sandy blonde hair that he'd always had, but in this timeline, AC sported a matching moustache and goatee. His most unique feature, his protruding gills, flapped in the vicious sea wind. AC considered his next statement.


	2. Chapter 2: The Aquaman

**The Aquaman**

Aquaman stoically watched Oliver and Chloe, expecting some sort of an explanation, finally he said: "The problem is that the oil rig is spewing crude oil petroleum waste into the environment. It's been pooling along the sea floor, getting into the food supply, and killing and sickening our sisters and brethren." AC began officially, as Mira hung on every word, watching for some reaction from the over-dwellers.

Mira still waved the trident menacingly at them. Clark assumed that the trident was some type of weapon, and not just ceremonial. AC had a similar one, though much bigger, strapped across his broad, tanned back. "That's exactly why we're here, AC." Oliver explained coolly.

"You lie!" Mira's sudden outburst startled everyone. "Please my lord, let me gut them like they do to our sisters and brethren! Let our young feast on their rotting entrails!" Chloe's eyes widened, and Lois clung tightly to Clark. "Mira! Enough! These are my friends!" AC defended angrily.

"That is one mean woman!" Chloe commented, shaking her head. "Mira! Go and check on the readiness of our fleet!" Aquaman ordered. "Yes, my lord!" Mira bowed her head and cast one more hateful glance at everyone aboard the _Queen's Gambit_.

She quickly departed as her whale swam east and then disappeared beneath the surface. "Oh! She's just lovely!" Lois remarked as her voice dripped with sarcasm. "My lord?" Oliver playfully teased. "AC, you've obviously moved up in the world." He added to the quip.

"I must apologize for Mira's behavior." AC began in a much softer tone. "We just lost her mother, Queen Adele of Pacifica. Mira must now fill the role as leader." Clark nodded. "Pacifica?" Lois picked up on the strange name. "Hey Lois!" AC finally smiled. "Atlantis is the home of my people." He explained. "The kingdom is divided into six countries, to use your term."

"The six subkingdoms are called Atlantea, Pacifica, Amphipolis, Thermapolis, Arthrocia, and Antipodea. Each is located below the sea floor of the corresponding known, human named, oceans." Aquaman added. "I have been called upon to rule Atlantea, which is our biggest kingdom."

"Called on by whom?" Lois's inherent journalistic instincts began to kick in. "The original four kingdoms date back about 10,000 years." AC answered. "King Triton, King Poseiden, King Neptune, and Queen Atalanta formed the island countries about the time the Egyptian pyramids were built. Wars, famines, and devastating climate changes eventually forced the Atlanteans underwater."

"The truth be told, the Atlanteans and the humans never did get along well." Aquaman admitted. He sighed. "Permission to come aboard?" AC asked contritely. "Granted." Oliver quipped, trying to sound official. AC waved his trident in front of the whale's eye, pointing it downward.

The whale responded by dropping about three quarters of the way below the surface. AC leapt off impressively, and land near the center of the boat between Lois and Clark and Oliver and Chloe. The whale quietly slipped beneath the surface, its tail flipped high above them.

"So, Prince Arthur…?" Lois needled. AC glanced over at her and Clark. "It's good to see you all again!" He finally flashed a bright smile. "Now, that's my bro'." Chloe praised. "Boy Scout, Why are you so quiet?" AC noted Clark's lethargic expression. "Just a little out of sorts today." Clark defended weakly.

"Perhaps you're seasick?" Aquaman teased as he slapped Clark's broad back. "More likely homesick!" Lois speculated playfully. Oliver had restarted the _Queen's Gambit_ and resumed his heading towards the QII Oil Rig. "As I was saying…" Oliver began above the whining din of the yacht's twin engines. "We are in fact, here to investigate the accident claims made about the oil rig."

"I'm here on a surprise inspection, so I can see for myself any damages that could be involved." Oliver added. "It is true, Ollie." AC said as he returned his attention to the bow of the boat. "My subjects are growing gravely ill. Many have died from the poisoning of our food supply."

"Subjects?" Chloe parroted as her eyes widened. "Yes Chloe, I am now considered the Aquaman, a sort of king, actually." AC sounded uncomfortable talking about himself. "It's an honorable title of nobility. I am a direct descendant of King Triton's bloodline, and as the eldest male, I must assume the throne." AC explained patiently. "In fact, I represent the first in a line of Atlantean hybrids."

"Hybrids?" Clark echoed. "Yes. Atlantis has been my home all this time." Aquaman continued. "I'm a new species entirely. I can exist for long periods of time on land with the over-dwellers. That's the name we call your people. According to legend, my father, King Triton, had an illicit affair with an over-dweller female, named Denala. I was born as this hybrid, similar to your meteor freaks, or meta humans."

Clark couldn't recall ever encountering Atlanteans in previous timelines, yet here was their friend, AC. He mentally grumbled 'great! Now we have an entirely new species to deal with!' "You mentioned 'a fleet?'" Lois picked up on the earlier command given to Mira. "Unfortunately, the Six Kingdoms do not see eye to eye. Bickering has gone on for years, but now all of Atlantis is in jeopardy." AC replied.

"The Six Kingdoms disagree profoundly on how to deal with each other, and worse yet, how to deal with the over-dwellers. Each kingdom has amassed a fleet ready for war." Aquaman let that statement hang in the air. "This sounds just like politics in the good old US of A." Chloe remarked.

"It's gotten far beyond political squabbling, Chlo'." AC admitted. "The Atlanteans hold the over-dwellers responsible for any deaths of the denizens of the depths." Clark scowled. "That's not fair!" He snapped. "Humans may not be the only cause of the Atlanteans' deaths."

"Humans?" Lois echoed, and cast a puzzled glance at Superman. Chloe bit her lip. The conversation had gotten close to going bad for Clark as well as for everyone else. "Just out of curiosity, what kind of weapons do the Atlanteans use?" Oliver grilled, swiftly deflecting the discussion from Clark.

"There are many sources of energy below the sea floor." AC began vaguely. "Humans can't survive at those depths, even with all of the advanced technology. The water itself carries untapped energy that we Atlanteans have harnessed for use. We can cook, build, and communicate just as easily below the sea floor as you all can above sea level. Yes, we have weaponized some of this energy as well."

"AC, you can't let this get out of hand." Clark warned. "I know, Clark. The heads of all the kingdoms have forbidden any contact with the human world." Aquaman continued. "You know as well as I that we can't control or stop everyone. At some point, we will have a major conflict between the Over Dwellers and the Under Dwellers." This depressing fact silenced the _super friends_.

"I hope that you don't mind if we keep the details of our technologies secret." Aquaman hedged. "Sounds fair." Oliver responded. "Lord knows if any of our people got hold of Atlantean secrets. Imagine someone like Lex Luthor with a brand new weapon that no one else on Earth would have."

Oliver edged the _Queen's Gambit_ near the docks below the oil rig's mighty pylons. He slowed his pleasure yacht to a stall and drifted into one launch bay. "Hey! You can't park here!" A guard yelled down from an upper ladder platform. "This is private property! You are docking in a potentially dangerous, restricted bay." The guard continued to bellow. Oliver ignored him at first.

"Hi!" Oliver smiled and yelled back up to the guard. He and Chloe anchored the yacht next to a delivery platform. "What's your name?" Ollie shouted far too sweetly. "What difference does that make?" The guard bellowed angrily. "Sergeant Timmons, why?" He answered.

"Because I'm Oliver Queen, and you've got five minutes to notify your superiors that I'm here, or you're fired!" He yelled loud enough for more workers to hear. Chloe snickered as the guard scrambled to locate his shift supervisor. By now, Clark felt more alert, and he guessed that he was assimilating to this new time shard. Lois reluctantly climbed out of Superman's lap and threw on some clothes.

The others followed suit, except for AC, who decidedly hadn't anything to put on, not that he cared. Oliver led the group off the boat and deftly climbed up the ladder leading to the first level. By the time they reached the access point, a number of workers had gathered to gawk at the scene.

A heavy set man in an off white shirt, old blue jeans, brown work boots, and a yellow work helmet rapidly approached the group of young people. "What is the meaning of this disruption?" He angrily addressed no one in particular. Oliver cautiously made his way around the rigging and stood toe to toe with the supervisor. Timmons stood sheepishly behind them.

"Oliver Queen." He extended a hand. "And you are?" The supervisor began to cool his temper. He'd recognized Ollie from some company photos. "Day shift supervisor, Joe Dale." Oliver nodded as Dale shook his hand. "Mr. Dale, pardon our disruption." Ollie began diplomatically. "My friends and I were out on a weekend cruise, when I decided to have a look at your rig." He explained his cover story.

"We'd like a full tour." Oliver smiled cynically as Chloe glanced away, afraid that she'd crack up laughing at Ollie's playful tone. He'd immediately adopted his nosy rich kid persona, and used the tour as a cover for their inspection. Clark, Lois, and AC followed in step, pretending to be interested in the rig.

"Now?" Joe Dale gulped. "Sure, if it's not too much trouble." Ollie grinned broadly. Dale looked around at the shift workers who were still milling about, and Timmons who was trying desperately to edge away. "Certainly Mr. Queen. Timmons can show you…" Dale began. Oliver shook his head." No, I think that you should personally escort us through the rig. How does that sound?" Ollie asked bluntly.

This way, Dale wouldn't have a chance to warn anybody else that Oliver was coming, and possibly hide evidence of the oil rig leak. "Of course, Mr. Queen." Dale squirmed. "I must insist that you and your friends wear the protective safety gear. Insurance reasons and all that."

"I wouldn't have it any other way, Supervisor Dale." Oliver said as he slapped the bureaucrat on the back. "Okay everybody! Show's over! Back to work!" Another supervisor ordered as the crowd began to disperse. Dale led the group into the rig office, and grabbed a set of safety items, including the ubiquitous yellow hardhats, eye protection goggles, and some ear protection.

"I also can't allow your guests to go barefoot, exposed metal and such." Dale added. "Sure." Oliver agreed. "These work shoes will do." Ollie said as he walked over to a safety locker and grabbed a variety of safety shoes. Lois groaned as she tried on the heavy, clumsy shoes. "You're the adventurous young reporter, cuz, suck it up!" Chloe teased as she donned her work shoes.

Clark played along silently, but still felt uneasy about spending so much time on one aspect of this timeline. He wondered if this was yet another distraction that dragged him away from his overall mission. His friends' personalities seemed very similar to the original timeline, with the possible exception of AC. It still got on his nerves that AC had never explained to them what and who he was.

The group filed out of the office and followed Dale up some gunmetal gray stairs to the next level. Lois noted that as huge as the oil rig was, she still seemed to feel the surf buffeting the massive pylons. The ocean was rough and getting rougher, but no storms were forecast for the area.

Below the surface, a nefarious plan was being devised that would bring chaos to all of Atlantis. Mira rode the whale as far down in the sea as it would dare go. Three Atlanteans suddenly appeared riding some type of underwater turbo subs. They quickly overpowered Mira, stealing her trident, and spiriting her away, in the exact opposite direction from the kingdom's capital: Atlantis City.


End file.
